Holidays, flag-raising ceremonies, socialism: New episode of »Places of the East« on holiday camps
Berlin, 2 September 2026 – For millions of children and young people in the GDR, summer meant going to holiday camp. Swimming, campfires and new friendships shaped their memories. But holiday camps were not simply places for carefree leisure. In the central Pioneer camps in particular, the holiday experience was combined with the SED state’s aim of providing political education.
The latest episode of the DDR Museum film series »Places of the East« explores just how much politics was involved in holiday camps and why memories of them remain so varied to this day.
Historian Dr Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk visits former holiday camps and traces their development after 1945. From the 1960s to the 1980s, they became a mass phenomenon. But not all holiday camps were the same. Alongside the widespread company-run holiday camps, there were central Pioneer camps with a particular political agenda.
One notable example was the Wilhelm Pieck Pioneer Republic at Lake Werbellinsee. From the 1950s onwards, it was intended to win young people over to the socialist state. At the same time, it developed into an international meeting place for children and young people from numerous countries.
The episode also looks at what happened after 1990. Many holiday camps disappeared, fell into disrepair or became lost places. Others are still used by children and young people today. What remains of places that some associate with freedom, friendship and adventure, but others with discipline, conformity and political education?
»Holiday Camps in the GDR – From Company-Run Holiday Camps to the Pioneer Republic« will be released on the DDR Museum’s YouTube channel on 10 September 2026 at 4 pm.
Expert Available for Interviews
Dr Liza Soutchek is available for interviews in connection with the release. As a historian, she is responsible for the editorial content of the »Places of the East« film series and has researched the subject of holiday camps in the GDR in depth.
Interview requests can be sent to presse@ddr-museum.de.
About »Places of the East«
»Places of the East« is the DDR Museum’s film series exploring (East) German places, topics and events whose history continues to resonate today. Historian Dr Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk visits lost places, sites of memory and places looking towards the future, combining historical context with current developments and personal memories. New episodes are published regularly on the DDR Museum’s YouTube channel.
